Protective shield



NOV. 12, 1935. RUSSELL PROTECTIVE SHIELD Filed July 7, 1933 QwpentowJdmae/ Passe 0%, @4 24 w. 'M

Patented Nov. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES 2,020,702 rao'raorrva snnam SamuelRussell, Kansas City, Mo., by decree of court to Ennis Russell, widowApplication July 7, 1933, Serial No. 679,413

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a portable bullet proof protector shielddesigned to be carried so as to protect the user from bullets. It isparticularly adapted for use by officers of the law in subduing riotsand mobs or prison breaks.

It is an object of this invention to provide a portable shield which canbe folded into a small space and conveniently carried when not in use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device which willafford the maximum protection while providing the maximum of freedom ofmovement to the user.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protector device of thetype described whichwill protect all portions of the users body andwhich can be placed into action position from the folded position withina. minimum interval of time.

A further object of my invention is to provide a protective device whichwill be very light and can be carried by the person to be protected.

In prior shield protecting devices the shields are of the rigid type andare therefore of no practical value where such devices are to betransported in vehicles or carried by the person to be protected and arerequired to be brought into action in a very short period of time.Likewise, the prior devices do notaiford protection to all parts of thebody and at the same time allow free movements of the body of the user.The so-called bullet proof vests are uncomfortable to the wearer and areof no great value unless worn constantly and cannot be readily discardedwhen not needed, as when it is necessary for the omcer to give chase toa fugitive. Also these devices do not afford protection to the head andlower parts of the body.

My invention has been designed to eliminate these practicaldisadvantages of the devices known to the prior art, and is illustratedby way of the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a view of the backside of the pr tective shield made inaccordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a frontview of the protective de vice;

Figure 3 is a side view of Figure 1;

Figure 4 shows the protective device in its folded position;

Figure 5 is a detail view of Figure 1 along line A--A.

The protective shield as constructed in accordance with this inventionis made up of an upper section I which is connected to an intermediatesection 2, by means of hinges 6 and I, and a lower section 3 which isfoldably connected to section 2 by means of hinges 8 and 9. The hingesare preferably placed near the edges of the sections so that bulletswill not bend the edges and render the shield inoperative. A dependingflange Ill which is integral with upper section I serves with 5 theintegral rim Illa to strengthen the lower edge of the upper section Iand the upper edge of section 2 thereby preventing the impact of abullet from deforming the edges which would prevent the sections fromfolding into closed posi- 10 tion. Similarly, the flange II and theintegral rim I la prevent bullets from deforming the lower edge ofsection 2 and the upper edge of section 3.

A handle I2 is secured to the upper section I by any suitably means suchas riveting or weldl5 ing. A cooperating arm loop I4 is secured to theintermediate section 2 by means of ears I5. A resilient pad i3,preferably of rubber is glued to sections I and 2 to protect the armagainst the 7 shock of the bullet impact. The pad is separated 2'.)

at I! to allow the top section I, to fold down over section 2. A porthole I6 is provided in the intermediate section 2 through which a gunmay be fired. The bullet proof window 5 is held by a frame 4 across anaperture in section I. allows the user of the shield a full view to thefront while being fully protected from gunfire and serves as a sightingdevice enabling the user to more effectively direct gunfire.

Figure 4 shows the protective shield in a folded i position which makesit very convenient to carry. This is what I call the carrying positionas distinguished from the action position as shown'in Figs. 1, 2and 3.

The operation of the protecting shield device is as follows: Assumingthe shieldto be in the carrying position, the user grasps the handle I2with the right hand. As the handle is lifted the upper section I unfoldsallowing the lower section to'drop down. The shield assumes a sub- 40stantially vertical position when supported by the handle. The left armis then thrust through the arm loop I4 and the handle I2 is grasped bythe left hand. The right hand is then free to direct gunfire through thehole I 6. The flange ill on section I and the flange II on section 2prevent the respective sections from folding back against the user ofthe shield. The handle l2 acts primarily as a support for the shieldwhile the arm loop It acts as a guide for maintaining the shield in afixed position relative to the user's arm. The loop is pivoted to theears l5 so that it may accommodate itself to various arm lengths, andalso reduce the space required for the shield when the same is in thecarrying posi- 56 This :5

tion. The handle I2 is preferably fixed rigidly to the upper section sothat it can be easily grasped in case of emergencies.

In the use of my invention it is important that the handle be secured toone section and the arm loop be placed on another section of the shieldso that the weight of the shield may be carried at times by the arm loopl4 fitting into the crotch of the forearm to rest the arm of the userwhile the hand on the handle 12 of the section I will prevent the lattersection from folding over the front of the intermediate section. Thisconstruction also allows the handle I2 to be on top of the folded shieldwhere it can be easily grasped. The

resilient pad l3 prevents injury to the arm of the user which mightotherwise be caused by a bullet impact upon the shield. The window 5 ismade of heavy bullet-proof glass and is placed at a point in the uppersection so that the user may have a direct view to the front while beingfully protected from gunfire. The sections 1, 2 and 3 are made of anyimpact resisting material such as steel or other metal. The intermediatesection is slightly longer than either end section to enable the endsections to be folded thereover. The total'length of the shield is sucht at the body of the user is substantially protecte from head to feet.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made in the construction of my invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a portable pro tective shieldcomprising an upper end section, an intermediate section, a lower endsection, a handle on said upper section, an arm loop on saidintermediate section, hinges connecting said sections for folding theupper end section and the lower end section against one side of theintermediate section, an offset overlapping flange on two of saidsections whereby the upper and lower end sections are prevented fromfolding against the other side of said intermediate section, saidoverlapping flange also serving to strengthen the edges of saidsections.

2. A protective shield device comprising an intermediate section, anupper end section, a lower end section, a handle on one side of saidupper section, hinge members connecting said sections, the lower sectionadapted to be folded against said intermediate section,' and the saidupper section adapted to fold over said lower section leaving the handleexposed, whereby said handle is accessible for quickly unfolding saidshield.

3. A protective shield device comprising a central section, a topsection and a bottom section,

said sections being foldably connected together,

a handle on said top section, an arm loop on said central section, meanson one of said sections for preventing said top section from foldingback onto said arm loop.

.4. A portable protective shield for use as a protection for individualpersons, said shield comprising a plurality of sections foldably'securedtogether, the totallength of said shield being at least sufficient tosubstantially cover the vital organs of the person to be protected, saidshield comprising an upper end section, an intermediate section and alower end section, a rigid handle on said uppersection, hinge membersconnecting said sections, said lower end section adapted to be foldedagainst said intermediate section and said upper section adapted to befolded over said lower section when said lower section is folded againstsaid intermediate section, whereby said rigid handle on said uppersection is readily accessible for quickly unfolding said shield into anextended position by merely supporting the weight of said shield by saidhandle.

5. A portable protective shield comprising a pair. of plates hingedtogether marginallyto fold or collapse forwardly to dispose their frontfaces in close proximity or to unfold for disposition one above theother, means for preventing reverse or rearward collapsing action of theplates when in their unfolded position and for reinforcing the hingededges of the plates when unfolded, and an arm loop and handlerespectively secured to the rear faces of said plates, the arm loopoccupying a position below and the handle a position above the hingeline when the shield is in open or operative position. i

6. A portable protective shield comprising a pair of plates hingedtogether marginally to fold or collapse forwardly to dispose their frontfaces 0 in close proximity, or to unfold for disposition one above theother, one of the plates having an off-setting marginal flange foroverlapping the hingeline when the plates occupy the last-namedrelation, to reinforce the shield at the hinge line and prevent backwardfolding action from said last-named position, a handle and an arm loopsecured to the rear sides of said plates above and below the hinge linerespectively, and shockabsorbing cushions secured to the rear sides ofthe plates, the cushions conjointly extending from the handle to the armloop and their adjacent ends approximately coinciding with the hingeline when the shield is in open operative position.

SAMUEL RUSSELL.

